New Lodi coffee shop fights sex trafficking
The combination of activism and coffee is combined as Inspire Coffee opens in downtown. Owners Lance and Laurie Coffman are using their coffee shop to raise awareness about human sex trafficking in the community.
With each purchase 10 percent of the proceeds go towards the Hope Initiative, which is a local nonprofit that was started by Laurie Coffman aimed at educating people about human sex trafficking and raising funds to help victims find housing and reintegrate into society.
Laurie has hosted classes and created workshops aimed at developing and informing attendees tactics used by predators and signs to look out for,
and social media trends that are becoming outlets for predators.
The shop sticks to its message of ‘inspire’ since it officially opened its doors in September, and it has been focused on being a positive presence in the community.
“We want people to know that we are not just a coffee shop, that we are also here as a place for our community” said Nicholas Coffman.
While the Hope Initiative plays an integral role to the coffee’s motto, the Coffmans also look to inspire local community members to feel emboldened and motivated.
“We want to foster an environment that allows people to get creative and go after what they want. Our motto is fuel your dreams, and we really believe it, we want to see people in our community go after what they want,” said Nicholas Coffman.
The family-owned shop is focused on maintaining the integrity of the “coffee” part of the establishment. While they do offer specialty drinks and blended beverages, they really put fourth an effort to focus on the beans and roasting process.
“All our coffees are pourovers. We do not brew anything, and we do that to keep the taste of the coffee intact,” said Nicholas Coffman.
The Coffmans believe their care for their coffee sets them apart from many other coffee shops in town; they strive to perfect every aspect of the coffee process, especially when it comes to selecting the beans.
“We work with a coffee roaster up in Rocklin, and we really focus on the blends we select,” Lance Coffman said, “We are currently in the process of creating our own blend and are hoping to get it roasted within the next few months.”